Pisces, the Fish. Can you find the brightest star, Alrisha? Click on image for full size (56K JPG) Windows Original

The constellation Pisces is known as the fish. Almost every ancient civilization saw this figure. It is either explained as a single fish or a pair, depending on the civilization. Pisces can be found during the months of September through January.

In Greek mythology, the two fish represent Aphrodite and her son, Eros. One day they were fleeing the giant Typhon, when they jumped into a stream, turned to fish and swam away. It is said they tied a string to their tails so they could stay together. Even the constellation shows this long string shared between them.

The brightest star in Pisces is named Alrisha, which is Arabic for "The Knot". It ties the two fish together in the middle of the constellation. The easternmost fish is located just below Andromeda. The westernmost is below Pegasus. The string starts with the eastern fish and travels south towards Cetus before heading west to connect with the other fish.

Unfortunately, there aren't many objects of interest in Pisces. There is one galaxy called M74 located a little south of the eastern fish, to the left of the string.

Pisces, the Fish. Can you find the brightest star, Alrisha? Click on image for full size (56K JPG) Windows Original

The constellation Pisces is known as the fish. Almost every ancient civilization saw this figure. Some saw the figure as a single fish, others saw it as a pair. Pisces can be found during the months of September through January.

In Greek mythology, the two fish represent Aphrodite and her son, Eros. One day they were fleeing the giant Typhon, when they jumped into a stream, turned to fish and swam away. It is said they tied a string to their tails so they could stay together. Even the constellation shows this long string shared between them.

The easternmost fish is located just below Andromeda. The westernmost is below Pegasus. The string starts with the eastern fish and travels south towards Cetus before heading west to connect with the other fish.

Pisces, the Fish. Can you find the brightest star, Alrisha? Click on image for full size (56K JPG) Windows Original

The constellation Pisces is the Fish! Some ancient civilizations thought it was one fish, others thought it was two. Do you think there is a single fish or two in the figure? Maybe you don't see a fish at all!

In Greek mythology, the two fish were Aphrodite and her son Eros. One day they were running from a giant. They jumped into a stream, turned into fish and swam away. It is said they tied themselves together with a rope so they woudn't be apart.

Now do you see the fish in the image? Each little circle is a fish, and the big "V" shape is the rope! Now that you know what it looks like, look for Pisces in the sky during the months of September through January!